Plants

Strawberry-tree thickets

Characteristics of strawberry-tree thickets

• Strawberry-tree thickets are really a particular case of the concept of <<Mediterranean scrub>> in which the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) abounds, as a tree or small tree, living alongside other medium-to-tall species such as heathers, rockroses, mock privets, terebinths and so on.
• They can form climax communities on steep slopes where the great Quercus find it hard to develop.
• The typical Lusitanian-Extremaduran strawberry trees of Cabañeros belong to the association Phillyreo angustifoliae-Arbutetum unedonis.
• The strawberry tree is a characteristic tree of the sierras of Cabañeros. Its fruit ripens the following autumn, when the tree flowers again. So fruit and flowers coincide on the same tree.
• In dry spells they tend to take on an ochre colour.
• It is one of the species most sensitive to water deficit.
• Strawberry-tree thickets in the dehesas are uncommon on the peninsula, so many visitors find them curious in our area.

Habitat and distribution of strawberry-tree thickets in Cabañeros

• They have a considerable presence inside Cabañeros National Park. It is the second shrub formation, behind the rockrose thickets. Strawberry trees cover 10 per cent of the park.
• Shady slopes of La Ventilla.
• Source of the Brezoso.
• Growing on rocks on the El Chorro route.

Leaf types

• Evergreen, simple, alternate, lanceolate leaves, deep green, shiny on the upper side  and matt on the underside, 8–10 cm long by 3–4 wide and with a serrated  edge.

Species that accompany strawberry-tree thickets in Cabañeros

• Heathers (Erica arborea, Erica australis, Erica scoparia).
• Mock privets (Phillyrea angustifolia).
• Rockroses (Cistus ladanifer, Cistus populifolius).
• Terebinths (Pistacia terebinthus)
• Butcher’s-brooms (Ruscus acaleatus)
• Laurustinus (Viburnum tinus)
• Mastic trees (Pistacia lentiscus) in warmer areas.
• Shrubby germander (Teucrium fruticans).

Photo gallery of strawberry trees (Arbutus unedo)

News from the park

The strawberry tree has an oddity that the park newsletter of September–October 2024 recalled: in autumn its fruit and its hanging flowers can be seen at the same time (in Spanish).

Shrub formations: scrub and shrublands

• Rockrose thickets
• Heathlands
• Broom and retama thickets
• Strawberry-tree thickets
• Willow thickets
• Mastic and kermes oak thickets
• Tamujo thickets